The Madras High Court has disposed of a public interest litigation petition filed against the felling of trees for the expansion of Egmore Railway Station in Chennai after recording the submission of Southern Railway that it had obtained the approval of the District Green Committee (DGC), headed by the Collector, to fell 182 trees, transplant 103 trees and prune 33 more.
Chief Justice S.V. Gangapurwala and Justice P.D. Audikesavalu closed the case with an observation that the Southern Railway could not travel beyond the permission granted by the DGC and that it should report to the committee about compliance of the condition to plant 12 saplings for every tree being felled and also whether all 103 trees had been transplanted.
The first Division Bench also directed the DGC to verify the compliance report. Pasumai Thayagam Foundation, a non-governmental organisation led by Sowmiya Anbumani, had filed the PIL petition contending that such mass felling of trees would cause much harm to the environment in a city like Chennai which was starving for green cover.
Finding justification in the case filed by the foundation, the judges wrote: “We, for a moment, do not doubt the intention of the petitioner but the trees are being cut or transplanted for expansion of Chennai Egmore railway station. Therefore, a balance has to be struck between sustainable development on the one hand and ecology and environment on the other.”
After hearing the arguments advanced by advocate K. Balu for the petitioner, Additional Solicitor-General AR. L. Sundaresan for Southern Railway and Additional Advocate-General J. Ravindran for the State government, the judges said they also do not doubt the bonafides of the railway administration in having decided to fell the trees for the expansion of the railway station.
They made it clear that the felling, transplantation and pruning of all trees must be carried out in accordance with the conditions imposed by the DGC.
